Friends and Family
by unsuspecting
Summary: Way back in season one Meredith actually moved back to New York.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: Nothing you recognise is mine.

It's her day off and she's window shopping. It's been a long week of dark alleys and humanity's worst impulses and all she graves is the masses. Curious tourists push along sidewalks as they rush from one landmark to another. She usually doesn't like the crowds, prefers the silence of her apartment, but spring has finally hit New York and the air is still crisp. She spent her morning doing chores, almost spring cleaning, pushed her warm coat to the back of the closet and packed her heavier sweaters in the box that belonged under the bed. She has this impulse to spend money on herself. Every once in a while she will get herself something outrageously nice without even arguing with herself. It doesn't happen often, once or twice a year, but she has the money to do it. She won't buy property on the moon anytime soon, but Burberry's knows her well. She hadn't found anything so far, but she's perfectly alright with that as well. She treated herself to an excellent lunch at an absurdly overpriced café and is now just walking, absorbing everyone's energy as the tourists are slowly leaving the city and the partiers are flooding in. She just decided that she should probably head for the nearest subway when her uneventful day is interrupted.

She's used to Castle showing up out of the blue and with no warning. It usually is a different Castle at her heels though and she almost stumbles when the young redhead falls into step with her, grabs her forearm tightly and starts whispering. "Hide me, Detective Beckett."

"What?" The urgency in the girl's voice makes her reach for her gun, before she reminds herself not to be ridiculous. "What's going on, Alexis?"

"Mom took me out of school. Again. That was three days ago and she won't let me go home and Gram went on some kind of retreat and was too stubborn to ask dad to come home and mom took my phone!" She's glad that she had so many overly dramatic friends in high school, because even though Alexis has always appeared level-headed, she has dramatic genes on both sides of her family tree. She's torn between laughing and taking Alexis seriously. It's the sheen of tears that quickly convinces her. She takes in her surroundings in full cop-mode.

"Where is your mother?"

"Changing room. I may have another minute before she realizes I'm not in the one next to her. I have to get back." It's Beckett's turn to grab Alexis.

"Hold on. I have no intention to get sucked into whatever weird relationship you have with your mother. We either do this right or not at all. Decide now." For the first time in a long while, Kate hears her mother's tone of voice inside her head and it has nothing to do with her death. It's just the no-nonsense approach to life that Johanna Beckett had always prescribed to.

Alexis blinked several times. "What does that mean?"

"You can go back to your mother and act like everything is fine or we'll go in there together and I'll make sure she hears you when you talk to her." She's glad that Castle always over-shares. For once.

"Go with you." Alexis answer comes quick and Beckett has to admire the quiet determination that radiates from her all of a sudden. It occurs to her that confronting things head on is probably not something Alexis is used to in a family of actors and writers. Too much subtext.

"Okay. Just send me away when you think you're fine." She smiles in what she hopes is reassurance.

"What if it's not fine?" The sorrow that replaces determination tugs on Kate's heartstrings.

It's a gut reaction that she will question later that night. "Then you're coming home with me." The smile she gets in return is pure and she takes a second to save that image for darker times. "Let's go."

She feels out of place between gowns that cost more than she makes in a month and jewelry nobody in her family could ever afford (and they weren't poor; they just weren't filthy-rich). There's a commotion in the middle of the store that has gotten the attention of everyone inside and Meredith is in the middle of it. Alexis hesitates beside her, but Kate pushes her forward. "No turning back now."

"Mom?" Her voice is hesitant, but strong and Kate is already smiling. It's going to be fine.

"Alexis! Sweetie! What happened to you?" The whirl of red hair is almost scary and sharp blood red nails fly through the air before long thin arms envelope Alexis briefly. "I was about to have them call the police."

"Already here." Meredith finally recognises that somebody else stands besides her daughter as Kate flashes her badge to the security guards with a wave and a smile. Gratitude rolls off them in waves as they beat a hasty retreat. That should have been her first clue.

"What, may I ask, are you doing here, detective?" Meredith's voice is cold and Kate sees Alexis wince as her mother embraces her tightly all of a sudden.

"Just ran into Alexis." She smiles at the girl who seems to wilt next to her mother. "Lex?" The nick name is automatic, even though she never used it before.

"I saw detective Beckett outside and..." _Don't give up now_, Kate silently cheers her on. "I've been wanting to go home and to school." Meredith frowns.

"Isn't shopping with your mother much more fun than school, honey? Besides, we need to get you a new dress for the party tonight."

Kate can see the tears gathering in Alexis's eyes, a sure sign that the girl is about to crumble under her mother's pressure. "As far as I understood her, Alexis is kinda anxious to go back to school. Shopping might be fun, but education is important to your daughter." She remembers Castle's utter confusion at Alexis dedication with fondness. "She asked me to help her make that point."

"And you thought that gave you permission to butt in. How droll, detective." Meredith gives her that measured look that Kate had hated all her life. The girls who disapproved of her wardrobe in high school, the students who scoffed at her public school education, the dates who belittled her career choice... they all started with that look.

Kate looks back at Alexis and tries to connect with the girl, the way she so often does with Castle. _Do you want me to leave or stay?_ Alexis seems to have understood her silent message as easily as Castle often reads her thoughts. Her eyes widen and she takes a step away from her mother. "I invited Detective Beckett to come with me. I expected a modicum of civility from you, mother. I should not have over-estimated you." _Ouch_.

"Alexis-"

"No. I've had enough. I'm leaving with Detective Beckett and tomorrow, I will go back to school. I will call you about the weekend after dad comes home and we can discuss lunch." Alexis doesn't give her mother a chance to answer, just shrugs the woman's hand off and turns fully towards Kate, who ushers both of them out of the store quickly. Kate waits until they have aimlessly rounded a corner into a side street before she makes Alexis stop.

"You okay?" She is worried. The girl has been quiet, but a quick nod reassures her. She lets the grin that she's held back take over her features. "That was awesome!"

"Right?" Alexis's grin matches hers. "I never talked to my mother that way. She was speechless. That'll teach her to exploit dad's absence like this."

"Speaking of your father, how come he did not interfere? I would have thought that he would be on your side in this."

"He's going from one country to the next right now. He should be in Italy. Mom put a child-lock on international calls and without my cellphone, I couldn't call him myself."

"Wow. That's…"

"Insane?"

"Thorough?"

"Well, she barely left me alone long enough to have a shower. I'm not sure what this is about, but she's been obsessed about going out this week."

"Maybe she wants you guys to have a better relationship? Spend some more time together?"

Kate steers them towards the next subway stop.

"Well, maybe she should try actually talking to me, instead of just dragging me all over Manhattan." The petulant tone is so adorably teenager-appropriate that Kate can only smile. The stairs to the subway are right in front of them and it won't take them long at all to get to her apartment.

"Come on, then. Time to find a place to stand still."

tbc


	2. Chapter 2

_Our favorite detective runs into Alexis Castle. Together, they free the young redhead from her mother's shopping clutches. With her dad out of the country and her grandmother MIA, Alexis needs a place to stay._

* * *

Alexis looks miserable and Kate hopes it's more the situation and less the company. She's irrationally fond of the girl. "Okay, that was the FedEx guy. Here's your new SIM. The old one's deactivated. I just got you a simple phone, since I guess that you'll get yours back eventually." Kate tosses the package at Alexis who catches it clumsily.

"How?" Alexis seems awed and Kate is glad she decided to slightly misuse her authority.

"I wouldn't come between a teenage girl and her phone, Alexis." It seems that is all the explanation the girl needs and they smile briefly at one another before Alexis tears into the package.

"This is the same one you have!" Alexis seems pleased with that and Kate almost winces at her pragmatism in the face of the young girls obvious happiness. Just like Castle, everything holds so much meaning.

"I just figured that once you're done with it, it can be my backup. I crash a lot of phones." She lets herself smile.

"Cool. Dad will totally pay you back for all of this." Alexis has the phone ready to go and is looking for an outlet to charge the device. As soon as she has unlocked the phone, she texts her father, hoping he will get her message and finally call her back.

"I was gonna order food. You want anything specific?"

"What kind of food?"

"Chinese?"

"Anything chicken."

"Wanna split two dishes?"

Alexis nods and Beckett makes the familiar call. With food on the way, she lets herself plan the rest of the night. "When do you have to be in school tomorrow?"

"Nine."

"That's good. We'll swing by the loft and pick up some clothes for you. You'll need your school uniform, I assume." Alexis nods. "Anything else? You play some kind of instrument, right? Do you have lessons?"

"Yeah, I play the violin. Olga comes by on Thursdays. I'll just cancel."

"Or you can just tell her to come here. Whatever you want Alexis."

"Really?"

"Sure. I'll drop your stuff here before I go in tomorrow and you can sort out things with your teacher." Kate takes some money out of her wallet and hands it over. "I'm gonna go pick up a toothbrush for you. I shouldn't be long, but just in case the delivery guy is fast. Tip him well, he's my main source of food." She grabs her keys from the small bowl by the door and then searches the drawer of the commode that the bowl was sitting on. "Ha!" She smiles in triumph when her fingers close around her spare key. "You'll need this tomorrow after school. I won't be home until late." She puts it into the bowl where Alexis can see it and then leaves with a simple wave. She figures, she'll give the girl a little time to get used to her surroundings. Maybe snoop a little.

The food is there when she returns. She picked up some soda and some ice-cream as well (if she bought the kid a tooth brush, they should have all the sugar they want). Alexis has found some napkins and glasses, but left the food in its containers. "I like eating out of the cartons, is that okay?"

"Perfect. We'll trade. Got some strawberry ice-cream for desert. You want water or soda?"

"Water is fine. I'll get it."

"There should be some in the fridge." Alexis brings the pitcher of filtered water to the table and Kate pushes her glass forward at Alexis's raised eyebrow.

They talk about random things during dinner. Music and school, mostly. Kate is glad that she is genuinely interested in what the young girl has to say and doesn't mind sharing some of her own musical tastes. When they've taken care of the dishes and have settled on the couch with small bowls of ice-cream, Kate can feel Alexis withdrawing. "Do you want to talk about what happened today? You don't have to, but you can."

Alexis slowly meets her eyes, but shakes her head. "Maybe tomorrow? I'm just so tired. Mom took me to parties every night and I'm just not used to so little sleep."

Kate takes another look at the slumped shoulders and blinking eyes and realises that the girl is not withdrawing. She's simply exhausted. She puts her empty bowl on the table and grabs Alexis's melting desert as well. "Come on, you're going to bed."

"Would that be okay?"

"Of course. Come on, I'll show you the rest of the apartment. Did you take a look around?"

Alexis shakes her head slowly. "Okay, you can snoop in detail tomorrow. Let's do the nickel tour. Bathroom's over here. Your toothbrush is on the windowsill. Help yourself to whatever else you need. I usually shower first thing in the morning and I'm a morning person, so it's probably best that I get the bathroom first tomorrow. I'll wake you once I'm done, okay?" Alexis nods with a smile. "Excellent. Bedroom's across the hall, you can borrow some pajamas."

"But this is your bedroom." Alexis's voice stalls Kate's search for a pajama top.

"Yeah, I don't have a guest room."

"I couldn't take your bedroom! I'll sleep on the couch."

"That's sweet Alexis, but this the quietest room in the apartment and you said yourself that you need some sleep. Besides, I'm still wide awake and you wouldn't want to kick me out of my living room just so you can sleep on the couch, would you?" Kate grins at the dilemma that Alexis clearly imagines herself in.

"Okay?"

"It's more than okay, Alexis. I fall asleep on that couch all the time. Get some sleep and we'll talk tomorrow, yeah?" She pushes the girl towards the bathroom again, points out the clean towels and goes back to her bedroom to change the sheets, gather her own sleepwear and clothes for the next day as well. She wants to let Alexis sleep till the last possible moment. It seems like the girl needs it. She grabs her alarm as well and turns on the small lamp beside her bed. With a last look through her room, she deems it ready for her guest and wanders back into her kitchen. She is drying their bowls when Alexis - swimming in her pajama top - slowly shuffles into her line of sight.

"Good night, detective." Kate smiles. Alexis reminds her of the pictures of Christopher-Robin in the book of Winnie the Pooh stories she loved as a child. "And thank you."

"No need to thank me. Just get some rest. I'll try to reach your dad, again, okay?" She is surprised by the fierce hug, but tries not to let it show.

"Thank you." The words are mumbled against her shoulder, but Kate can hear the genuine gratitude in the girl's voice loud and clear.

"Go to sleep, Lex. I'll see you in the morning."

She grins as she watched the slow shuffle to her room. She really has no defences against the Castles.

She grabs her phone and tries not to think how expensive an overseas call to an American cell phone will be. "Hey Castle. Alexis said you were country-hopping in Europe. Just wanted to let you know that your kid is currently hiding at my place and that you don't need to worry. Call her."

tbc


End file.
